Crown & Culture: The Story and Evolution of Black Hair

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Across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, a new wave of young people is redefining beauty standards by embracing natural hair.

What was once a personal choice has evolved into a cultural movement, fueled by a demand for authenticity. 

Social media has given visibility to a spectrum of curl patterns, textures and styles that were once overlooked in mainstream media. Beneath the trending hashtags lies something deeper: a generation reclaiming autonomy over how they present themselves and pushing back against long-standing beauty hierarchies.

For Zakayla Smith, the journey began with necessity. “I just didn’t have the money to get my hair done,” Smith said. “It was either learn how to do your hair or look a mess.”

That challenge grew into discovery. She researched porosity, experimented with products and leaned into protective styles that allowed her hair to flourish. “I decided to figure it out, to love what makes my hair different instead of chasing what everyone else was doing,” she said.

Her experience reflects a broader trend. Twist-out tutorials, flaxseed gel recipes and wash-day vlogs now draw millions of views online. What was once a niche discussion among small communities has now become part of a global dialogue about culture, confidence and self-acceptance.

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Despite her eye-opening experience, Smith admits her relationship with her hair wasn’t always positive. Growing up, she often compared her tightly coiled texture to looser curl patterns that received more praise. 

“Kinky hair wasn’t looked at as cute,” she said. “When natural hair first came back into style, it was like everyone had the perfect 3C or 4A curls, and I didn’t.”

Those comparisons underscore an issue many in the natural hair community continue to face, Texturism. Even as natural hair is celebrated, certain curl types are still spotlighted more than others in media and marketing. 

Texturism, however, didn’t emerge overnight. The bias traces back to slavery and colonial beauty ideals that favored Eurocentric features and straighter hair. Over time, those standards were internalized and passed down through generations, shaping how Black hair is perceived both within and outside the community.

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“If you have some type of curl, you’re way more marketed than those of us who have to twist and manipulate our hair just to get definition,” Smith said.

In the early 1900s, the first chemical hair straightening methods emerged by Garrett A. Morgan, the inventor of traffic signals. While working on a chemical for sewing machines, he accidentally discovered a hair straightening formula in 1909. 

Around the same time, Madam C.J. Walker popularized hot combs and hair-care systems that smoothed and straightened hair, though her products were not relaxers in the modern sense.

Chemical relaxers became commercially available and more widely used in the 1940s.These early relaxers often contained lye (sodium hydroxide) and were marketed primarily through Black beauty salons. 

Straight hair was associated with professionalism and social mobility, reflecting the pressure to conform to Eurocentric beauty standards.

In the 1960s through the 1970s, the afro emerged as a symbol of pride and resistance during the Civil Rights and Black Power movements. During this period, relaxer sales temporarily dipped as “natural” became political and empowering.

However, with corporate and mainstream media influence growing, relaxers made a huge comeback in the 1980s. 

Brands like Dark & Lovely, Strength of Nature that distributes Soft & Beautiful and Motions became household names. Straight hair was again framed as more “professional,” especially for women entering corporate spaces. 

By the 1990s and early 2000s, relaxers had become a rite of passage for many young Black girls, often viewed as a sign of maturity or “neatness.”

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However, around 2010, the natural hair movement rose again. With the movement being fueled by YouTube, social media and cultural pride, relaxer sales began to plummet.

According to Mintel, relaxer sales declined by nearly 40% between 2012 and 2017, a reflection of changing attitudes toward natural texture and self-expression. 

Many major beauty companies have since pivoted toward natural hair lines, curl-friendly formulas, and textured-hair education.

The cultural shift has also entered politics. The CROWN Act is a bill passed in several states in 2019. This bill prohibits hair-based discrimination in workplaces and schools.The act aims to end race-based hair discrimination and was founded by the CROWN Coalition, with organizations like Dove, Color Of Change, and the National Urban League.   

For Smith, the law represents more than policy. “The CROWN Act means protection,” she said. “It’s protection over what we can’t change: our culture, our crowns. That’s what makes us distinctively us.”

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Concomitantly, the natural hair market is booming. Beauty aisles are filled with products from brands like Design Essentials, Camille Rose and TGIN promising hydration, definition and growth.

For many, the future of natural hair care is shifting toward community and transparency. Consumers are prioritizing cleaner ingredients and scalp health, while DIY routines remain popular. 

For Smith, weekly wash days have become a ritual. She starts with a clarifying shampoo, follows with a hydrating cleanser and deep conditioner, then styles with staples like Camille Rose’s Honey Hydrate and TGIN’s Daily Butter Cream.

Despite ongoing challenges, Smith says progress is evident. “Honestly, how you feel about your hair is about what you’re doing to it,” she said. “You can love your hair if you know how to care for it.”

The natural hair revival is not just about beauty. It is about culture, identity and reclaiming space. For many young women like Smith, every curl tells a story and every strand is a statement.